Cannabis cultivation and marijuana use are widespread in Northern
California. Because of the costs associated with surveillance and the
eradication of cannabis, some Northern California authorities rank
marijuana a more costly threat than cocaine. Medical marijuana initiatives
complicate local law enforcement efforts throughout California.
Authorities in some areas consider marijuana a more serious threat than
cocaine because of manpower, violence, and financial issues.

According to CADDS, the number of people seeking treatment for marijuana/hashish abuse rose from 7,802 in FY1998 to 8,904 in FY1999. In
both years about 70 percent of those admitted were male.

The number of DAWN ED marijuana/hashish mentions in San Francisco rose
from 305 in 1991 to 507 in 1995 before dropping to 394 in 1998.

Sacramento ADAM subjects tested higher than San Jose subjects for
marijuana use. The percentages in Sacramento were 44 and 33 for males and
females respectively, while in San Jose the percentages were 34 and 26.

In contrast, San Francisco ED mentions declined by more than 20 percent
from 1995 to 1997, and remained at the new low level in 1998. According to
Newmeyer, some 2,135 people were in treatment for primary marijuana
problems in the Bay Area in FY1999.

Arrests for marijuana-related offenses in San Francisco County remained
stable, between 2,000 and 2,400 per year from 1993 to 1998.

Marijuana, particularly domestically produced marijuana, remains
readily available in Northern California. Marijuana seizures in California
were just below 200,000 kilograms in 1999, a high for the 5-year period,
according to EPIC data (see Chart 6). Under the DEA's Domestic Cannabis
Eradication/Suppression Program, authorities in California eradicated
405,440 marijuana plants and seized 2,184 plots and grows in 1998.

In September 1999, authorities in San Benito County made the state's
second-largest marijuana seizure ever. Some 50,000 mature plants growing
in a remote area about 4,300 feet above sea level were destroyed by
officers from the San Benito County Undersheriff's Department and the
state's Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting. The
Under-sheriff said, "In my 30 years here, it's the most dope I've
ever seen."

San Francisco Chronicle, 15
September 1999.

Domestically produced marijuana is preferred because of the higher THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol) content. California-produced marijuana usually
contains 10 to 20 percent THC, versus 2 to 5 percent for the Mexican
variety. Pound prices for high-grade marijuana produced in Santa Clara
County can reach $4,000–$6,000. See Table 4 for price and purity
information reported by other offices.

Growers reportedly employ armed guards to protect both indoor and
outdoor grows. Growers may warn off intruders with flares and use pits
filled with punji stakes, fishhooks dangling at eye level, guard dogs, or
trip wires linked to shotguns, grenades, or other explosives. In Fresno
County, authorities recently found a grenade with a trip wire strapped to
a propane tank. Law enforcement has confiscated semiautomatic weapons,
night-vision binoculars, and bulletproof vests from growers.

The East Bay Regional Park Police warned people to stay away from any
marijuana plants they see because "some of these folks will build
booby traps, not so much to trap hikers and police but to prevent
theft."

Law enforcement agencies indicate that in the Emerald Triangle composed
of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity Counties near the Oregon border, many
cannabis growers protect their plants by violent means. These growers
commit murders to expand their influence and use assault weapons while
patrolling their plots. Many of these growers are young Caucasians who
flaunt their wealth by purchasing expensive vehicles.

Marijuana grows present unique enforcement problems by virtue of their
location and the notoriously hostile reception given to law enforcement in
rural communities. Growers use elaborate mechanisms to detect law
enforcement infiltration and to protect their crops from poachers.
Further, any significant law enforcement presence is immediately noted and
communicated to those who might be interested. As a result, law
enforcement officers engaged in such investigations are often at risk.

In August 2000, a Madera County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man
at a marijuana farm. Before he was shot, the 19-year-old Mexican had
pointed a semiautomatic pistol at the deputy. In the raid, deputies found
7,000 marijuana plants that had grown 5 to 8 feet tall. In October 2000, a
41-year-old man and his 8-year-old son were shot by two men guarding a
marijuana grow on the victim's property. The older victim's brother-in-law
was arrested about 3 weeks later regarding both the shooting and the
marijuana grow.

According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, the
Sacramaniacs gang (a white supremacist gang) will commit any crime for
profit, including distributing marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine.
The size of a typical white supremacist gang remains between 5 and 20
members who range in age from their early teens to mid-twenties.

The cultivation of cannabis is widespread in Northern California,
especially in the Emerald Triangle. The large-scale outdoor cultivation
sites that dot the Emerald Triangle often use sophisticated irrigation
systems to produce thousands of pounds of high-grade, high-demand
marijuana annually. Cannabis cultivators in this area are predominantly
young Caucasian males.

Growers increasingly use state and federal lands to cultivate cannabis.
In the Bay Area, land owned by the San Francisco Water Department and the
East Bay Regional Park has been used for grows of up to 20,000 plants.
When growers use locations like the national forests, the forests
themselves suffer from the adverse effects of cannabis cultivation.
Cannabis cultivators sometimes set the woods on fire to retaliate against
raids by authorities. One blaze burned 12,000 acres. Growers clear-cut
cultivation areas with chain saws and spread tons of fertilizer and
pesticides. They set out poison for rodents, which also kills wildlife.
California authorities found a marijuana grower's journal documenting the
slaughter of hundreds of deer.

In recent months, authorities in Northern California seized large
numbers of marijuana plants in large-scale outdoor grows. Officers in
Calaveras, Fresno, Madera, and Tulare Counties seized between 4,000 and
14,000 plants in operations in August and September 2000. Madera County
officials expect a bumper crop of marijuana in 2000. Eradicating plants at
such sites is expensive and time-consuming.

Although most marijuana grown around San Jose is grown indoors, there
has been a huge increase in outdoor grows operated by Mexican nationals in
the last 2-3 years. Located in remote areas on federal and ranch lands,
these grows have exceeded 50,000 plants. Illegal migrants live at the grow
sites tending the plants. Because the sites are so remote, cultivators can
spot law enforcement officers coming and have sufficient time to evade
capture.

Most marijuana in Fresno is cultivated locally by Mexican nationals
using remote areas in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Difficulties in prosecuting marijuana cultivators and users cause law
enforcement to concentrate on violations related to other drugs.

Asian growers in Northern California have sometimes cultivated cannabis
intermixed with other crops, using legitimate agriculture as a cover for
their grows. Discovering the grows is difficult, and uprooting the plants
is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.

Mexican groups use the same methods to transport marijuana as
methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. These groups distribute marijuana
within California and throughout the United States.

Authorities seized 226 kilograms of marijuana on all highways in
Northern California in 1999. Almost all marijuana seized originated in and
was destined for locations in California. Interstate 5, with about 78
percent of the seizures, is the main highway used for transporting
marijuana. U.S. Highways 101, 99, and 395 had only a few seizures each.
Seizure amounts ranged from 4 to 45 kilograms.

Street gangs are responsible for a significant amount of retail
marijuana distribution. Law enforcement officials report that many
Hispanic and African-American street gangs distribute marijuana in both
metropolitan and rural areas of California. The San Francisco Police
Department indicates that Hispanic gang members are involved in marijuana
distribution.

The California Department of Justice estimates there could be as many
as 5,000 Caucasian street gang members in California, many of whom
distribute marijuana. Most of the gangs lack structure and appear to be
loose-knit without much leadership. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
reports that independent individuals without organized gang involvement
are the primary distributors of locally grown marijuana.

Asian street gangs are involved in marijuana distribution in San Mateo
and Marin Counties. Asian distributors sell marijuana packaged in plastic
food bags. Sometimes they sell larger quantities packaged in shoeboxes.
They typically sell to people they know or to those known to their
personal contacts.